While India is known for its sweet tooth and a range of tasty sweet foods, I have seldom seen how they are actually made. Fortunately, I got this opportunity rather unexpectedly while travelling through the villages of East Godavari district in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. On our way, we came across a whole village dedicated solely for traditionally preparing ‘Mamidi Tandra’, a popular sweet made from mangoes. In every house, there were layers of mango pulp mixed with jaggery spread over bamboo mats and being dried in the sun. These are dried for a whole month to get that unique texture before being folded and packed for distribution. We tasted one which was ‘fresh off the mats’, and boy did it taste good!

Hi Mani, thanks for your comment. This mango sweet is popular in the southern parts of India, particularly Andhra state. Do try it when you visit there anytime! I don’t think you get this in the northern parts.